Invicta FC 57: Ferreira vs. Romero went down Friday, Sep., live from the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The main event pitted Brazilians Elisandra Ferreira and Andressa Romero against each other for the promotion’s vacant atomweight title.
The event also featured Invicta veterans DeAnna Bennett and Liz Tracy, as well as up and comers like Fernanda Orellana and Jamie Edenden.
Check out what went down at Invicta FC 57 with our full event recap below.
Ferreira vs. Romero Delivers Action in Main Event of Invicta FC 57
Elisandra Ferreira and Andressa Romero threw down in a very fun fight to cap Invicta’s latest offering. The pair proved they deserved this title shot and main event billing as they treated us to lots of heavy exchanges, both in the center of the cage and along the fence.
In the first round Romero was the aggressor, chasing down Ferreira, throwing bombs and trying to get a takedown against the fence. However, it was Ferreira who would land the best shots of the round. In one exchange she kicked out Romero’s lead leg and then dropped her with a straight left. Later in that round Ferreira got Romero’s back and attempted a rear naked choke, only to be shaken off. From there she went for an armbar, but Romero was able to escape and then finish the round on top.
Romero rebounded in the second round and was able to impose her volume striking and clinch pressure game on Ferreira. She also threatened with a guillotine. However, she didn’t come close to getting the sub there despite spending a lot of time and energy on it. In the third round there was more volume striking from Romero. Though, in doing so she opened herself up to Ferreira’s counters, which landed sparsely but with far greater impact than Romero’s shots.
In round four both women continued to throw leather. And it was Ferreira, again, doing the most damage. Ferreira was able to land a takedown in this round, but Romero was able to get her way on top and land good ground and pound. She would lose the position after Ferreira threatened a heel hook at the end of the round.
In the final round Fereira landed a quick takedown, but she couldn’t hold Romero down for long. The pair engaged in more gritty exchanges to finish the fight, again with Ferreira landing the harder shots (which began to really show on Romero’s face towards the end of the round).
In the end Ferreira’s varied offence featuring big counter punches with the occasional takedown and submission threat impressed the judges more than Romero’s aggressive forward pressure and punches in bunches (which mostly missed).
With this win the 26-year-old Ferreira is now 4-0 in the Invicta cage, having beaten Katie Saull, Flor Hernandez and Marisa Messer-Belenchia on route to her title shot.
Main Card Results Include Quick Injury TKO
The biggest moment of the remainder of the main card was the unfortunate ending to the co-main event. After the first exchange of the fight, Nayara Maia went down and gestured to the referee that she couldn’t continue. Replays would show she suffered a knee injury soon after being engaged on the feet by Kristina Williams.
Before that fight DeAnna Bennett and Liz Tracy went at it in Invicta’s 500th fight. This was a rematch from a bout that occurred on the second Invicta Phoenix Series one-night tournament. Bennett won that bout before losing to Miranda Maverick in the final in 2019.
Bennett put in a professional display in this rematch. Tracy chased her a lot in this fight, but Bennett was able to land counters and reactive takedowns. The takedowns and her clinch control against the fence allowed her to boss the contest and avoid Tracy’s big swinging offence for the unanimous decision win. This was Bennett’s first fight with Invicta since her loss to Maverick. Since then she’s fought in Bellator, unsuccessfully challenging Liz Carmouche for the flyweight title.
Milana Dudieva opened up the main card with a unanimous decision win over former LFA title challenger Sandra Lavado. Lavado, who had UFC champ Alexa Grasso in her corner, was the superior striker in this bout, but she couldn’t stop Dudieva’s judo throws and top control. Dudieva was able to take the fight to the ground enough that she was rarely in danger of getting hurt by Lovado’s offence. Dudieva came into this fight off a two year lay-off (her last Invicta fight was a stoppage loss to Denise Gomes). She’s now 2-4 in the promotion.
Maria Djukic Shines on Undercard with Brutal KO
Maria Djukic got to 2-1 in Invicta after blitzing Maria Jose Favela in the opening round. She landed heavy shots on Favela before putting her down with a clean straight right to the jaw.
The rest of the prelims card featured dominant decision wins. Jamie Edenden got the better of Claressa Shields-slayer Abby Montes. 21-year-old Chilean prospect ragdolled Meaghan Penning to go 2-0 on her career. And Quinn WIlliams had too much for Ana Vitoria.
Flyweight: Kristina Williams def. Nayara Maia by TKO (injury). Round 1, 0:31
Flyweight: DeAnna Bennett def. Liz Tracy by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Featherweight: Jamie Edenden def. Abby Montes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Maria Djukic def. Maria Jose Favela by KO (punch). Round 1, 0:57
Strawweight: Fernanda Orellana def. Meaghan Penning by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Strawweight: Quinn Williams def. Ana Vitoria by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
What’s Next for Invicta?
Invicta’s next show, Invicta FC 58, is scheduled to take place on November 6, 2024. Location and fight card is TBA.